Google in talks to buy Bangalore-based startup InMobi

Google is reportedly in early talks to acquire Bangalore-based start-up InMobi, a move that will bolster its offering in the increasingly competitive mobile advertising space.

Google has not yet detailed its terms and conditions for the deal, Reuters reported.

InMobi could be valued at around $1bn (£664m, €946m).

Pursued by the news agency, both InMobi and Google refused to comment.

A deal will mark the US-based Internet search giant's first acquisition in India. Google's planned move is part of a strategy to take on Facebook's dominance in advertising on mobile devices.

InMobi, which helps companies target phones and mobile devices with advertisements, claims to have over 1 billion users across 200 countries.

InMobi counts Japan's SoftBank, an early backer of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, and American venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo among its investors.

The Economic Times first reported the news of the ongoing talks.

Other deals

In January, Twitter said it will acquire Indian mobile phone marketing startup ZipDial. The deal marked the US microblogging service's first acquisition in India, the world's second-largest mobile market.

In September 2014, internet giant Yahoo bought Bangalore-based Bookpad, whose service allows developers to add document viewing and editing to their own applications.

That deal came some eight months after social media giant Facebook snapped up Bangalore's Little Eye Labs, which develops performance analysis and monitoring tools for mobile apps.

InMobi was founded in 2007.